Adaptive Computing Moves into Big Data Workflows with Moab 6.0

The new Moab software package is optimized to deploy infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS) or software-as-a-service (SaaS) from a central console.

Software as a service
platform provider Adaptive Computing on Feb. 14 released a new version of its
frontline Moab Adaptive Computing Suite, which has been redesigned to handle
so-called "big data" private-cloud system deployments-meaning
petabyte-level and larger storage and workloads.

The new Moab software package is optimized to satisfy growing enterprise demand
for deploying IAAS (infrastructure as a service), PAAS (platform as a service)
or SAAS (software as a service) from a centralized and intelligent data center
infrastructure, Peter ffoulkes, vice president of marketing for Adaptive
Computing, told eWEEK.

"The thing that's really important about Moab is its intelligent
decision-making ability," ffoulkes said. "This comes into play once
you get past what we call the 'Cloud 1.0 level' [usually meaning a standard
portal plus a few basic features, like chargeback and agility features] and
move into the big data space.

"In the large systems, you've got idle virtual machines sitting there
burning up resources with nobody using them, servers with applications that
have been shut down, or that were 80 percent loaded earlier in the day and are
now 20 percent loaded at the end of the day ... all sorts of adjustments that
need to be made," ffoulkes said. "This all happens as workflows come
and go. They expand and contract in their demand levels. That adaptiveness is a
critical element to the correct functionality of a large enterprise private cloud,
and that is what Moab brings."

New features in Moab v6.0 include the automatic tuning to manage a mix of
application workloads; the automatic initiation of live migration of virtual
machine workloads to meet service needs; the rapid automation of resource
allocation, provisioning and de-provisioning hardware resources via policies; the
provision of billing or "showback" of resource-use costs; and the aggregation
of data for rich context to automate initial resource allocation decisions.

"Moab was originated for managing this kind of work in the HPC
[high-performance computing] world. Now we have extended that into the
capabilities of Moab 6.0," ffoulkes said. "In addition to the batch
work we've always been good at, we now support transactional workflows by
linking applications sets together, so that when requests come in, say from a
Web farm, we can manage that flow all the way backward and forward."

By ensuring that applications and infrastructure are automatically deployed
properly the first time, ffoulkes said, service failures are avoided, resource
use is optimized and bottom-line costs are reduced.

Chris Preimesberger was named Editor-in-Chief of Features & Analysis at eWEEK in November 2011. Previously he served eWEEK as Senior Writer, covering a range of IT sectors that include data center systems, cloud computing, storage, virtualization, green IT, e-discovery and IT governance. His blog, Storage Station, is considered a go-to information source. Chris won a national Folio Award for magazine writing in November 2011 for a cover story on Salesforce.com and CEO-founder Marc Benioff, and he has served as a judge for the SIIA Codie Awards since 2005. In previous IT journalism, Chris was a founding editor of both IT Manager's Journal and DevX.com and was managing editor of Software Development magazine. His diverse resume also includes: sportswriter for the Los Angeles Daily News, covering NCAA and NBA basketball, television critic for the Palo Alto Times Tribune, and Sports Information Director at Stanford University. He has served as a correspondent for The Associated Press, covering Stanford and NCAA tournament basketball, since 1983. He has covered a number of major events, including the 1984 Democratic National Convention, a Presidential press conference at the White House in 1993, the Emmy Awards (three times), two Rose Bowls, the Fiesta Bowl, several NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments, a Formula One Grand Prix auto race, a heavyweight boxing championship bout (Ali vs. Spinks, 1978), and the 1985 Super Bowl. A 1975 graduate of Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., Chris has won more than a dozen regional and national awards for his work. He and his wife, Rebecca, have four children and reside in Redwood City, Calif.Follow on Twitter: editingwhiz